MANILA—National University found an unlikely hero in Lee Villamor as the Bulldogs ended a three-game skid with a 63-56 conquest of the Adamson Falcons in Season 74 of the UAAP basketball tournament Sunday at the Philsports Arena.
Villamor stepped out from the shadows of reliable scorers Emmanuel Mbe and Ray Parks to deliver the crucial baskets that prevented the Falcons from securing solo second behind league-leader Ateneo.
After pushing the Bulldogs ahead, 55-52, Villamor knocked down an off-balanced shot and then sealed NU’s second victory in six games with a wide-open corner three, 23.9 seconds left.
In the opener, De La Salle learned to share the ball and went on to slap a sixth straight loss on University of the East with an 87-63 rout.
Jarelan Tampus drilled 11 of his career-high 15 points in the second period, triggering a scoring onslaught that allowed the Archers to break a standoff at 13 and zoom ahead with a 45-26 cushion at halftime.
The 6-foot-7 Mbe banged in 16 points and collared 12 rebounds for the Bulldogs while Villamor had 11, eight of them in the final three minutes.
Rookie Joshua Alolino, whose three from the top of the arc tied the count at 52, finished with 10 points and four assists.
“Good thing they relaxed in the second half and we simply took advantage of it,” said NU coach Eric Altamirano.
Simon Aktins had a couple of three-pointers and posted a personal season-best 12 points while play maker LA Revilla added 10 for the Archers, who dished off 23 assists compared to UE’s 13.
Coach Dindo Pumaren rued that every player on the De La Salle bench had been trigger-happy.
“We lost and struggled in past games because everybody was looking to score,” said Pumaren, whose Green Archers racked up three straight victories following a 0-2 start.
“We won this game by a big margin because we now share the ball.”
It was La Salle’s biggest winning margin since demolishing NU, 93-69, on July 19, 2008.
Alex Nuyles had 16 points and Eric Camson added 11 for the Falcons, who led 52-47 on Jerick Canada’s fastbreak.
Alolino and Villamor took over the scoring cudgels from a struggling Parks, who wound up with seven points, the first time he missed the double-figure mark, after going two of eight from the field.
“He’s (Parks) still a rookie and he’ll go through these type of games. As long as he’s helping us in defense and other important things that could proved crucial in the end, that’s fine,” said Altamirano.
The Falcons, who fell into a tie with the Archers at 3-2, went 22 of 65 from the field and fared miserably from three-point range, hitting only four of 22 attempts.
The scores:
First Game
LA SALLE 87—Tampus 15, Atkins 12, Revilla 10, Vosotros 7, Torres 6, Dela Paz 5, Villanueva 5, Mendoza 5, Marata 5, Van Opstal 4, Reyes 4, Webb 4, Andrada 3, Paredes 2, Sara 0, Gotladera 0.
UE 63—Santos 14, Zamar 10, Noble 10, Zosa 9, Javier 4, Chavez 4, Casajeros 4, Montelibano 2, Tagarda 2, Sumido 2, Duran 2, Sumang 0, Sabangan 0, De Leon 0, Enguio 0, Flores 0.
Quarters: 13-all, 45-26, 65-44, 87-63
Second Game
NU 63—Mbe 16, Villamor 11, Alolino 10, Parks 7, Singh 6, Labing-isa 5, Celiz 4, Ignacio 4, Neypes 0, Khobuntin 0.
ADAMSON 56—Nuyles 15, Camson 13, Canada 7, Lozada 6, Alvarez 6, Cabrera 3, Petilos 2, Brondial 2, Colina 2, Manyara 0, Etrone 0.
Quarters: 10-20, 26-32, 43-46, 63-56